Blog Tour Stop for Daisy Woodworm Changes the World

I’m so excited to participate in my first Book Tour with TBR And Beyond Tours and to help spread the word about this wonderful book!

Book Info:

Daisy Woodworm Changes the World by Melissa Hart

Genre: Middle Grade Contemporary

Publishing Date: November 8, 2022

Synopsis:

When her social studies teacher assigns each student a project to change the world for the better along with an oral report, Daisy fears the class bully—who calls her Woodworm— will make fun of her lisp. Still, she decides to help Sorrel fulfill his dream of becoming a YouTube fashion celebrity despite their parents’ refusal to allow him on social media.

With the help of her best friend Poppy, and Miguel—the most popular boy in school and her former enemy—Daisy launches Sorrel’s publicity campaign. But catastrophe strikes when her parents discover him online along with hateful comments from a cyberbully.

If Daisy has any hope of changing the world, she’ll have to regain her family’s trust and face her fears of public speaking to find her own unique and powerful voice.

My review

We need more books like Daisy Woodworm Changes the World. It has such a positive message about how everyone can make a difference. It doesn’t have to be a huge change that affects the entire world, but can be something as simple as helping someone else achieve their goals. There’s also an emphasis on working together.

I also loved the way diverse characters were represented in this book. The book features characters from different racial backgrounds, people with disabilities, and LGBTQ+ parents. But, that’s just part of who the characters are, not the focus of the plot. It was nice to see a diverse community that felt natural.

My rating: 5 stars

Favorite Quotes

“But any etymologist worth her microscope would tell you people-like insects-went through metamorphosis all the time.”

“I hated that, how you could be going about your business, and then you caught sight of yourself-not just your reflection, but your eyes-and it was like meeting upwith your conscience, or something. Creepy.”

“…if you know what your goal is, and you know to ask for help in a way that makes people care, it doesn’t matter how young you are. You really can change the world.”

“If you want to change the world…cross-pollination is key!”

Book Links:

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/59656807-daisy-woodworm-changes-the-world

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Daisy-Woodworm-Changes-World-Melissa/dp/1631636375/

Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/daisy-woodworm-changes-the-world-melissa-hart/1140942756

Book Depository: https://www.bookdepository.com/Daisy-Woodworm-Changes-World-Melissa-Hart/9781631636370

IndieBound: https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781631636370

About the Author:

I’m an Oregon-based author, journalist, and instructor for the MFA in Creative Writing program at Southern New Hampshire University. My essays and articles have appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, CNN, The Boston Globe, The Chicago Tribune, The Los Angeles Times, Real Simple, Orion, High Country News, The Rumpus, Brevity, Woman’s Day, The Advocate, Parents, The Chronicle of Higher Education, Hemispheres, and numerous other publications.

I’m the author of The Media Adventurer’s Handbook: Decoding Persuasion in Everyday News, Ads, and More (World Citizen Comics, 2023), Daisy Woodworm Changes the World (Jolly Fish, 2022), Better with Books: 500 Diverse Books to Ignite Empathy and Encourage Self-Acceptance in Tweens and Teens(Sasquatch, 2019), the award-winning middle-grade novel Avenging the Owl(Sky Pony, 2016), the memoir Wild Within: How Rescuing Owls Inspired a Family (Lyons, 2007), and the memoir Gringa: A Contradictory Girlhood(Seal, 2005).

I’m a contributing editor at The Writer Magazine, and I teach frequently at writing conferences, libraries, universities, and bookstores. I grew up near Los Angeles with my younger brother, who has Down syndrome. I live in Eugene with my husband and teen daughter, where I love to run and hike long-distance, cross country ski, kayak, cycle, cook, and roam the Pacific Northwest as an amateur naturalist.

Author Links:

Website: https://www.melissahart.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/WildMelissaHart

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wildmelissahart/

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/13645.Melissa_Hart

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OregonMelissaHart

Tour Schedule:

November 7th
Stuck in Fiction – Promotional Post
Jen Jen Reviews – Review

November 8th
Confessions of a YA Reader – Promotional Post
Emmamustread – Review, Favorite Quotes

November 9th
Writing Rose Reads – Promotional Post

November 10th
Kait Plus Books – Promotional Post
Hijabi Reads – Review

November 11th
Nine Bookish Lives – Promotional Post

November 12th
The Clever Reader – Review
Nicole’s Nook – Review Favorite Quotes

November 13th
The Book Dutchesses – Promotional Post
Booky Cat – Review, Playlist

November 7th
dreaminginpages – Promotional Post
jenjenreviews – Blogger’s Choice

November 8th
jacleomik33 – Review
emmamustread – Blogger’s Choice

November 9th
nurse_bookie – Top 5 Reads to Read Daisy Woodworm Changes the World
writingrosereads – Blogger’s Choice

November 10th
allielovestoread – Favorite Quotes
gryffindorbookishnerd – Review
lia8.43 – Blogger’s Choice

November 11th
hodophile_z – Review
ninebookishlives – Blogger’s Choice

November 12th
mulberryreads – Review
thecleverreader – Blogger’s Choice

November 13th
tbrandbeyond – Promotional Post
bookycatbooks – Blogger’s Choice

TOUR SCHEDULE: Daisy Woodworm Changes the World by Melissa Hart

November 12, 2022

Top 5 Wednesday 11/9/22

Top Five Wednesday is a goodreads group that posts weekly top five lists based on bookish prompts.

This week’s prompt:

November 9th: Award-Winning

Did you know this week is National Book Awards Week? Let’s feature titles that won awards and why we want to spotlight them!

I don’t pay as much attention to awards for adult books, so I decided to focus on the Newbery and Caldecott.

Top Five Newbery Winners

I have featured most of these in my middle grade book of the month posts and have included the links. For the One and Only Ivan and Call it Courage I included a link the their goodreads page. I have read all of these books with students and their enjoyment of the books was weighted in my ranking as well as my own.

My Five Favorite Newbery Award Winners:

Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O’Dell (1961 winner)

2. Crossover by Kwame Alexander

3. New Kid by Jerry Craft (2020 winner)

4. The One and Only Ivan (2013 winner)

5. Call it Courage (1941 winner)

Top Five Caldecott Winners

The love of reading begins with picture books. Here are my picks from the best.

These are my favorite winners:

Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak (1964 winner)

2. The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg (1986 winner)

3. Lon PoPo A Red Riding Hood Story from China by Ed Young (1990 Winner)

4. The Three Pigs by David Wiesner (2002 winner)

5. The Adventures of Beekle the Unimaginary Friend by Dan Santat (2015 winner)

November 9, 2022

Top Ten Tuesday- 11/8/22

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly post hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl, where people like me who love lists and books can share our thoughts on fun bookish topics.

This week’s Topic: November 8: Series I’d Like to Start/Catch up on/Finish

I love series, but I rarely read them all at once. There are so many series I’ve started and enjoyed, yet the most recent books are still sitting on the shelves. These are the series I most want to return to in the near future.

The Healer by Maria V. Snyder

I don’t love the healer series quite as much as the Poison Study series, but I’d still love to go back to that world.

Sebastian St. Cyr mysteries by C.S. Harris

This one of my favorite historical mystery series. I have only read the first four books, but from what I’ve heard the series maintains its quality throughout.

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

I have read other books in the Grishaverse since reading Six of Crows, but haven’t gotten around to Crooked Kingdom.

Lords of the Underworld by Gena Showalter

My favorite guilty pleasure series. I’m much farther into this series than others on the list, and have read parts of spin off series. But, it’s been awhile since I’ve returned to the series

The Books of Bayern by Shannon Hale

I’ve read the first two books in the series and loved the strong female leads. I own River Secrets but have not read it yet.

The Brothers Sinister by Courtney Milan

I love the banter in these romances but don’t always think to go back to the series. The prequel novella, The Governess Affair is one of my favorite historical romances

Fairy Tale Fatal Mysteries by Maia Chance

This is a fun cozy historical mystery series with fairy tale connections. I loved the first book, but never got around to the next two even though they are both sitting on my bookshelf.

The Tea Rose by Jennifer Donnelly

The Tea Rose sat on my shelf for a long time due to the length. I have no problem reading long books, but I wasn’t sure if the plot would hold my attention. It was wonderful, and I’m sure the rest of the series is as well.

An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir

I don’t know why it’s taken me so long to read the next book in this popular series.

Rebel Mechanics by Shanna Swendson

I don’t read a lot of steampunk of alternate history books, but I love the characters in this series.

November 8, 2022

Mini-book haul and writing update

This weekend was the Rochester Children’s Book Festival was this weekend. I’ve attended in the past, but this was my first year as a volunteer. My job was to be an “author escort”, which means I got to take authors from their table to presentations. It was so much fun getting to meet the authors. It did cut back on my shopping time, which is why this is only a mini book haul.

Book Haul

These are the books I picked up at the festival:

The Lovely War by Julie Berry

It’s 1917, and World War I is at its zenith when Hazel and James first catch sight of each other at a London party. She’s a shy and talented pianist; he’s a newly minted soldier with dreams of becoming an architect. When they fall in love, it’s immediate and deep–and cut short when James is shipped off to the killing fields.

Aubrey Edwards is also headed toward the trenches. A gifted musician who’s played Carnegie Hall, he’s a member of the 15th New York Infantry, an all-African-American regiment being sent to Europe to help end the Great War. Love is the last thing on his mind. But that’s before he meets Colette Fournier, a Belgian chanteuse who’s already survived unspeakable tragedy at the hands of the Germans.

Thirty years after these four lovers’ fates collide, the Greek goddess Aphrodite tells their stories to her husband, Hephaestus, and her lover, Ares, in a luxe Manhattan hotel room at the height of World War II. She seeks to answer the age-old question: Why are Love and War eternally drawn to one another? But her quest for a conclusion that will satisfy her jealous husband uncovers a multi-threaded tale of prejudice, trauma, and music and reveals that War is no match for the power of Love.

This isn’t one of her children’s books, but it’s been on my wish list. I love WWII books or any book with a connection to Greek Mythology. So, I’m going into this one with very high expectations.

For the Birds The Life of Rober Tory Peterson by Peggy Thomas Ilustrated by Laura Jacques

Roger Tory Peterson revolutionized the way we look at and appreciate birds, animals, and plants. Some kids called him “Professor Nuts Peterson” because of his dedication to his craft; yet he went on to create the immensely popular Peterson Guides, which have sold more than seven million copies, and which birders everywhere appreciate for their simple text and exquisite illustrations. Working closely with the Roger Tory Peterson Institute in Jamestown, New York, author Peggy Thomas and artist Laura Jacques have created a fascinating portrait of a global environmentalist with this very first children’s biography of Peterson, a winner of the John Burroughs Nature Books for Young Readers Award.

Any book with penguins on the cover calls to me. I kept walking past this one and finally couldn’t resist any longer. It wasn’t until I was writing this that I remembered that as a kid I had field guide of birds that I would look through all the time.

Fifth period is hands down the best time of day in Connor U. Eubanks Middle School, because that’s when Mr. Lewis teaches Jazz Lab. So his students are devastated when their beloved teacher quits abruptly. Once they make a connection between budget cuts and Mr. Lewis’s disappearance, they hatch a plan: stop the cuts, save their class.

Soon, they become an unlikely band of crusaders, and their quest quickly snowballs into something much bigger–a movement involving the whole middle school. But the adults in charge seem determined to ignore their every protest. How can the kids make themselves heard?

This book was published less than a month ago, and people were already buzzing about it. Can’t wait to get it in the hands of my middle schoolers.

Writing update

As I mentioned in a previous post, my goal for November is to write every day. I alsomade aacalendar forrmyselfincludingg individual plans for each day. I have stuck to my overall goal of writing every day, but I am a little behind on my individual goals. This is mainly because I’ve gone into a rabbit hole of revisions. It may be taking longer but, I think I will be much happier with the end products of my writing.

November 7, 2022

Middle Grade Book of the Week:Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O’Dell

Synopisis:

When her tribe leaves the island, Karana is left behind. For years she survives on the island alone with nothing but the animals as company. Based loosely on the story of a real woman who survived on San Nicolas Island for eighteen years.

My thoughts:

This is a favorite from childhood (which is why I chose that cover rather than a later addition- I chuckled when I saw the $1.50 on the front). It’s rare to find a young adult book with such a strong female lead written in the 1970’s. When I reread it years later as an adult, I feared it wouldn’t hold up to my memory. But, the story is just as strong today as it was when it was written 50 years ago. I took a trip to California in 2019, and was thrilled to find out that one of our stops featured the grave of Juana Maria, the woman Karana’s character is named after.

November 6, 2022

Top Five Wednesday- 11/2/22

Top 5 Wednesday is a Goodreads group that responds to weekly bookish prompts.

November 2nd: Characters Who Need a Break

There are always those bookish characters who seem to be on edge all the time. Sort of makes you wish they could realize they need to take a break, right? In honor of National Stress Awareness Day, what are five characters you would love to see “chill out” from how stressed they are?

Hermione Granger- saving the world from an evil wizard while maintaining good grades is very stressful, Hermione needs to take some “me” time.
Holly from Coming Home to Wishington Bay – I’m not even a quarter of a way through this rom com, but it’s clear Holly needs to end her workaholic ways.
Nora from Book Lovers – Nora tries to be everything to everyone and all it does is earn her reputation as a shark.
Mrs. Bennet from Pride and Prejudice- The overdramatic Mrs. Bennet creates stress for herself and thher family. If she would just chill out about marrying off her daughters everyone would be happier.
Nina Hill from The Bookish Life of Nina Hill Nina has dealt with her anxiety by closing people out and living in books.

I threw this together quicker than usual because I didn’t remember until 10PM, so I’m sure I left out some great stressful characters. Which book characters do you think need to “chill out”?

November 2, 2022

NaNoWriMo Goals

November means NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month). For those unfamiliar, NaNoWriMo is an event where writers commit to writing 1,667 words daily, resulting in completing a 50,000-word novel in a month. I am not writing a book this month. I have participated in the July challenge before, but it’s not very practical while teaching full-time. However, that doesn’t mean I can’t have other writing goals. My intent is to dedicate time every day to writing in November. To keep myself accountable, I will post blog updates.

November 1, 2022

Top Ten Tuesday: November 1, 2022

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly post hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl, where people like me who love lists and books can share our thoughts on fun bookish topics.

This week’s topic: November 1: Unlikable Characters You Can’t Help but Love (These are villains, criminals, jerks, etc. that make you fall in love with them anyway, perhaps because they evolve by the end or they’re secretly wonderful and have been all along.)

My favorite characters are often ambiguous characters who seem evil, but are hiding a heart of gold underneath.

Artemis Fowl: Artemis is an evil genius with no compunction about kidnapping or blackmail.
Will Herondale (Infernal Devices series): Will gambles, drinks, and doesn’t seem to care about anything. But, you can’t help falling in love with him.
Rhysand (Court of Thorns and Roses series): Rhysand’s dark reputation is carefully constructed to deceive those around him.
The Darkling (Shadow and Bone Series) Another dark character that shows glimpses of heart.
Khalid IBN Al-Rashid (Wrath and the Dawn series): You really shouldn’t like a character who keeps killing his wives, but Khalid has his reasons.
Severus Snape (Harry Potter series): It’s hard to come back from being a death eater, but Snape managed to redeem himself.
Trenton Kalamack (The Hollow series): This evil Elfin druglord is so smooth, you can’t help but be drawn to him.
Phillipe de Clermont (All Souls Universe): Phillipe is the domineering vampire that rules the family with an iron fist, but you can’t help respecting him.
Ethan Jones (Agency of Burglary and Theft series): Ethan is a thief without the moral code of protagonist Cat Montgomery, but his charm is irresistible
Crowley (Good Omens; The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch) Crowley is a demon you can’t help but love.

November 1, 2022

Favorite Read of October 2022: Words in Deep Blue by Cath Crowley

Words matter, in fact. They’re not pointless, as you’ve suggested. If they were pointless, then they couldn’t start revolutions and they wouldn’t change history. If they were just words, we wouldn’t write songs or listen to them. We wouldn’t beg to be read to as kids. If they were just words, then stories wouldn’t have been around since before we could write. We wouldn’t have learned to write. If they were just words, people wouldn’t fall in love because of them, feel bad because of them, ache because of them, and stop aching because of them.
Cath Crowley, Words in Deep Blue

Goodreads Synopsis:

Years ago, Rachel had a crush on Henry Jones. The day before she moved away, she tucked a love letter into his favorite book in his family’s bookshop. She waited. But Henry never came.

Now Rachel has returned to the city—and to the bookshop—to work alongside the boy she’d rather not see, if at all possible, for the rest of her life. But Rachel needs the distraction, and the escape. Her brother drowned months ago, and she can’t feel anything anymore. She can’t see her future.

Henry’s future isn’t looking too promising, either. His girlfriend dumped him. The bookstore is slipping away. And his family is breaking apart.

As Henry and Rachel work side by side—surrounded by books, watching love stories unfold, exchanging letters between the pages—they find hope in each other. Because life may be uncontrollable, even unbearable sometimes. But it’s possible that words, and love, and second chances are enough.

My Thoughts:

I am always drawn to books that are centered around bibliophiles. Usually the protagonists in these books are well into adulthood. I liked that this was a new adult book, showing a young man who loves books and poetry. There is drama and misunderstandings, but I felt like they rang true for that age.

What I liked about this book:

Their bookstore has a library where customers exchange notes in the books. I loved this concept, and the excerpts were an innovative technique for adding depth to the story.
There is a deep appreciation for the power of words in this book, balancing Henry’s love of poetry and Rachel’s love of science.
Rachel is dealing with her brother’s death and how to move on without feeling guilty. She and Henry have a lot of deep discussions about life and death.
George and Martin are fantastic side characters. Even though the central romance is between Henry and Rachel, I was more drawn to their story. George is Henry’s cynical sister, but Martin wiggles his way into her heart by refusing to take her insults personally.

November 1, 2022